Tying the Floating Gummy Minnow
As with the original sinking version, folding or assembling is perhaps a better term than tying when making up floating gummy minnows. Rather than using several layers, the fly is build by folding a piece of Siliskin over a round piece of foam that has been tied down at the hook eye and glued along the shank. Round foam sticks that are usually used for tying trout boobie flies are perfect for this use.
To make the fly look most realistic when seen from underneath, we fold the Siliskin in an upside-down way: By piercing a hole or short slit in the Siliskin with a scalpel prior to assembly it is possible to “thread” the Siliskin over the point of the hook. This way, the Siliskin is wrapped around the foam from underneath the hook, producing a fly with a nice shiny belly and the “seam” along its back. This trick usually takes a few tries with Siliskin sticking to everything but the hook - but for picky fish, it does work better!
For the LR anchovy imitation, prismatic silver Siliskin and black stick-on eyes (covered with a thin layer of epoxy for durability) tied on a Tiemco 811S size 4 or similar, have produced the most takes. The total length of the fly is about 6 cm. By using two tubes of foam it is also possible to tie it on a larger hook such as Gamakatsu SL12 for tarpon and other species and still have it float.